1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tunable zones of steering rotation dampening, especially of motorized vehicles.
2. Background Art
The beneficial effects of steering dampening of motor vehicles have been appreciated for many years. Steering dampers provide momentary resistance to jolts on the steering wheel, which are caused by bumps and obstacles in the path of the vehicle. They attenuate the physically exhausting effects of driving vehicles under rugged conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,153 granted Nov. 30, 2004 to Hanawa Nobumichi
A steering device for a two-wheeler of the invention includes: a frame; a support member for a front wheel; a steering shaft connecting the support member to the frame so as to be rotatable about an axis thereof; and a rotary type steering damper providing a hydraulic resistance force in no matter which direction the support member rotates with respect to the frame. The steering damper has a vane adapted to swing in synchronism with rotation of the support member, oil chambers defined on both sides of the vane and filled with working fluid, a flow passage causing working fluid to flow from one oil chamber to the other oil chamber as the vane swings, and a damping valve arranged in a flow passage for the working fluid, and an opening of the damping valve is varied by a signal from outside to thereby generate a damping force optimized according to the travel condition.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,133 granted May 14, 1996 to D. L. Motrenec et al. for “Steering Stabilizer for Bicycles” discloses a device which dampens hydraulically. A valve in the hydraulic circuit controls the resistance to flow of hydraulic fluid and is remotely manually manipulated by a lever positioned near the hand grip on the handlebar. The valve provides three distinct levels of resistance.
The ability to adjust the dampening level of a steering mechanism is very useful. In terms of safety, control, and user fatigue, it is also ideal to establish zones of steering rotation, where the user may set a dampening level for turning, which is independent of the dampening level set for relatively straight-ahead driving. This invention provides infinite adjustability in specific zones of the vehicle's steering range, which are independent of each other, as well.
With existing dampers, the resistance level can be adjusted uniformly to suit particular conditions. However, no device allows the user to adjust the resistance for separate zones of steering rotation where a particular zone can be adjusted to have greater or lesser dampening then either of its adjacent sides.